Cocktails at Barrio North, Islington

Essex Road in Islington is fast becoming Cocktail Mile. That is, of course, a massive exaggeration but there is a high density of cocktail bars in the area. You’ve got 69 Colebrooke Row just off the road, with the one-two hit of Sequence Bar and Barrio North on the main stretch. There has to be only a couple of hundred of yards between them but they have differing identities.

69 Colebrooke Row is methodical and analytical, with a great deal of precision applied to each drink. Sequence Bar has a much cooler feel with digital projections available to anyone who turns up with a memory stick and a desire to show off their work. It’s probably the only cocktail bar in which Kraftwerk would feel at ease. Next door neighbour Barrio North is wildly different with a Latino-influenced décor. It’s every bit as bright and flamboyant as Sequence Bar is detached and refined.

My companion expressed some concern that we might be in a theme bar, such was the prevalence of Latin American paraphernalia and a lengthy discussion about what constitutes a theme bar ensued. We discussed sincerity, affectation and finding an O’Neills pub in the centre of the Left Bank in Paris. We were getting nowhere and it seemed like the only way of deciding was to get stuck into the drinks.

The cocktail menu at Barrio North is lengthy and varied. It is global in its scope by taking in ingredients found in specific countries to produce local specialities. I started off with a Gunpowder whilst my companion roared off with a Gran Turismo. The Gunpowder certainly lived up to its name with the strong rum combining fiercely with the added spices yet gilded lovingly with a little honey.

Following on from this, I went for a Hoodrat, which featured bison grass vodka along with red pepper. The balance between the two wasn’t a success, verging more towards the pepper although I did feel a little foolish when telling my companion that it was a little too peppery. He looked at me askew and wanted to know what I was expecting from a drink containing pepper and garnished with a slice of red pepper. I lowered my head and mumbled incoherently. He was more than happy with his Cafe Louco, which mixed X and X.

By now, a sign on the top of the bar had caught our attention. Written on a small plank of wood, painted in white letters was a sign saying ‘Zombie 5 rums, £16’. This had the effect of reducing us to giggling schoolboys, back to the early days of getting served in pubs, each of us nudging each other to try and get some of the harder spirits.

When asked about the concoction, the bartenders took turns in telling of the origin of this drink. Both agreed that a sailor had come into a friend’s bar after a long journey and requested a very powerful drink. Both concurred that five types of rum went into the drink but they could not find common ground on why it was called a Zombie. One said that it would turn you into a zombie whilst the other insisted it was because that sailor who had drunk several zombies, had drowned at sea and now walked the earth.

A decent story and an even better drink, with a lot of the edge taken off the spirits with the addition of passionfruit and sugar syrup. I was not so brave but was more than assuaged by a Sakura, which had a wonderful blend of cherry brandy and plum liqueur.

Barrio North recently celebrated its fourth birthday, which is testament to its enduring appeal amongst Islingtonians. It can get pretty hectic at weekends so it’s best to drop in during the week.

Barrio North
45 Essex Road
Islington
N1 2SF

Tel: 020 7688 2882